Red Sox at Marlins
The Boston Red Sox wrap up a season-opening six-game road trip Tuesday at the Miami Marlins, and strong starting pitching along with excellent defense have led them to four victories in their first five contests. Red Sox starters have posted a 0.90 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP in the early days of the season while allowing a total of three earned runs, and defensively the Red Sox have yet to commit an error, the longest Boston streak of flawless baseball to open a season since 2013.
Shortstop Xander Bogaerts continued his hot start to the season with two hits in Monday’s 7-3 victory at Miami, and is hitting .455 through five games with five runs scored and five doubles. Marlins pitching has allowed six runs or more three times in five games while starting the season 2-3. Second baseman Starlin Castro finished 3-for-5 Monday and is hitting .364 through his first five games with Miami, and his next homer will give him 100 for his career. The Marlins travel to Philadelphia for three contests after wrapping up their six-game homestand, then return home for their next six against the New York Mets and Pittsburgh.
TV: 6:10 p.m. ET, NESN (Boston), FS Florida (Miami)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox LH Chris Sale (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Marlins RH Jose Urena (0-1, 11.25)
Sale, who led the majors with 308 strikeouts while going 17-8 with a 2.90 ERA in his first season with Boston in 2017, opened his 2018 with six shutout innings of one-hit pitching in a no-decision Thursday against Tampa Bay. The 29-year-old struggled a bit with his control on Opening Day, walking three while throwing just 54 of his 92 pitches for strikes. Sale has pitched once in Miami - for the White Sox in 2016 - giving up five runs on eight hits in 6 2/3 innings to take the loss.
It would be difficult for Urena’s second start of the season to be worse than his first, considering he allowed five runs on six hits with four walks and three hit-batsmen in four innings of a loss to the Chicago Cubs on Thursday. The 26-year-old, who shared the major league lead by hitting 14 hitters a season ago, hit three hitters in a nightmarish first inning Thursday in which he gave up a homer on the first pitch and also walked in a run. Urena, a 14-game winner last season, makes his first career appearance against the Red Sox.
WALK-OFFS
1. After scoring 18 runs on 38 hits in splitting a four-game series against the Cubs to open the season, Miami was limited to three runs (two scoring after Boston built a 6-1 advantage) on 10 hits in the series opener Monday - finishing 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position and leaving 10 runners on base.
2. Boston 1B Hanley Ramirez, who ranks in the top five in Marlins history in hits, runs scored, doubles and homers, slugged his first homer of the season Monday while finishing 2-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs.
3. Red Sox RF Mookie Betts has hit safely in 22 of his past 23 games in games at National League stadiums, including each of his past 12 games.